Professor Jacob Charles Quoted in "Bruen Takes Gun Law Back to a Time Before 'Domestic Violence'" -- The Trace

Professor Jacob D. Charles is quoted in the Trace article, "Bruen Takes Gun Law Back to a Time Before 'Domestic Violence.'" The article examines how the Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen is reshaping American gun laws.

Excerpt from "Bruen Takes Gun Law Back to a Time Before 'Domestic Violence'"

Jacob Charles, a Second Amendment scholar and associate professor at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, said the rulings highlight Bruen’s defects. “Typically, if you look back to history and you see a regulation, it is some indication that the government felt it had a right to regulate on a matter,” he said. “Finding nothing, finding an absence, tells you nothing.”

Charles said there are any number of reasons why the historical record could be barren of analogues. Perhaps the government felt a given restriction was unnecessary or impractical. After all, background checks were not feasible until the modern day. Or maybe the government felt a given measure lacked support. Charles pointed to alcohol prohibition, which remains constitutional but is largely unpopular. Or perhaps the founders did not think that a given protection was warranted. “The right of children and wives to be safe from the violent conduct of their gun-wielding fathers and husbands was not at the forefront of their minds,” Charles said.

The complete article may be found at The Trace